Women beneficiaries aged 62 or older, 1960-88

In 1988, some 19.4 million women aged 62 or older received Social Security benefits, compared with 6.6 million in 1960. The combination of the increasing participation of women in the workforce and changes in the Social Security program has resulted in differences in the types of benefit entitlement. In 1960, some 57% of women aged 62 or older were entitled solely as wives or widows and 43% as retired or disabled workers. In 1988, forty percent of these women were entitled as wives or widows and 60% as workers. The proportion of women entitled based on both their own and their spouse's earnings increased substantially, from 5% in 1960 to 22% in 1988. Social Security benefits are based on the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), which is related to earnings in covered employment averaged over a working lifetime. Lower earnings and periods of time spent out of the workforce or in noncovered employment resulted in low PIAs for many women. The PIAs for women in 1988 averaged $426, compared with $655 for men. In 1988, the monthly benefits payable to all female retired workers averaged $462.